Throughout the history of microcomputers there has been a motivation to increase the performance of microprocessors. However, with the constant increase in microprocessor performance, there is typically an increase in the magnitude of power consumed by the microprocessor. Due to the increase in power consumption, the run time temperature of the die of a microprocessor may exceed a safe threshold value.
Various methods currently exist to reduce the run time temperature of microprocessors. One such method is to modulate the processor clock. Another method is to modulate the processor clock frequency. However, these methods complicate the hardware design implementation, validation and also decrease the performance of a microprocessor. Yet another solution for cooling the run time temperature of a microprocessor is to shut down the microprocessor and reboot the computer system at a later time. However having to shut down the computer is obviously disadvantageous as it increases the down time of the system. Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a more efficient method of maintaining the run time temperature of a microprocessor.